1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to suspended storage systems and in particular, but not exclusively, to modular shelving kits suitable for use for example in the home, in offices, in businesses and as product display shelving in shops.
2. Description of Related Art
Modular shelving systems, which have greatly simplified the installation of either wall-hung or free-standing shelving, have been generally available for a number of years and are popular both for commercial installations and in the DIY market. FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional wall-hung metal shelving system comprising a pair of uprights 1, 2, a pair of brackets 3, 4, one bracket being mounted on each of the two uprights 1, 2, and a shelf 5 secured to the brackets 3, 4. Whilst the uprights 1, 2 and the brackets 3, 4 are generally made of a metal such as steel the shelf 5 is most commonly of wood or a similar artificial composite material. Normally a shelving system would consist of two or more pairs of brackets and an equivalent number of shelves which are mounted on the uprights one above the other with space in between each shelf.
The two uprights 1, 2 are intended for mounting generally vertically and parallel with one another on a wall. Each upright 1, 2 has a substantially U-shaped cross-section such that when it is secured to the wall it defines with the surface of the wall an enclosed channel extending substantially vertically. Each upright 1, 2 includes at least two through holes 6 for receiving wall screws for attaching the uprights to the wall. Each upright 1,2 additionally includes two parallel lines of repeating lozenge-shaped apertures 7 extending the length of the upright and opening to the enclosed channel defined by the upright and the wall.
The brackets 3, 4 are also of generally U-shaped cross-section with each side of the bracket generally describing a right-angled triangle. The two sides of the bracket are joined along their hypotenuse edges and the two other edges of each side of the bracket respectively contact the front surface of an upright and the lower surface of the shelf. Thus, the U-shape of the bracket is deepest adjacent the upright and gradually reduces in size to a point furthest from the upright. Two through holes 8 are provided in the downwardly facing surface of each bracket intermediate its two ends. The through holes 8 are adapted to receive screws 9 for securing the shelf 5 to the bracket, as is described in greater detail below. At the edge of the bracket which contacts the upright, a pair of parallel flat hooks are provided which project outwardly from the edge of the bracket. The hooks are L-shaped and are adapted to be inserted through one pair of lozenge-shaped apertures 7 in the upright and to engage with the upright in this manner.
The shelf 5 is a generally rectangular slab which rests over and is supported by the upwardly facing parallel edges of the two brackets 3, 4. Screws 9 inserted through the apertures 8 in the brackets have to be sufficiently long to extent across the depth of the bracket to the underside of the shelf. The screws are then screwed into the underneath of the shelf to secure the shelf to the brackets and to prevent the shelf 5 from tipping if a force were to be applied to the edge of the shelf furthest from the wall.
Construction of a shelving system of the type described above is relatively easy. As long as the two uprights are secured to the wall vertically, aligned and parallel with one another and the brackets present horizontal upper edges when mounted into the slots of an upright, the individual shelves should be horizontal. Such a shelving system also permits the person constructing the shelving to decide the spacing between adjacent shelves and the shelving system allows for different spacing between adjacent shelves in a series of shelves mounted on the same pair of uprights. However, with such a conventional modular shelving system even small variations in the alignment of the two uprights can make it difficult to securely attach a shelf to a pair of brackets mounted on the uprights and even if the shelf is attached it may not lie horizontal.
To improve alignment of the individual uprights and to simplify construction, suspended shelving systems have been developed in which each of the uprights is suspended from a supporting crossbar or girder. Conventionally, the individual uprights are attached directly to the crossbar by means of angled parallel slots cut into each of the two sides of the upright near to the top end of the upright. These slots engage with an upwardly angled lip projecting outwardly from the bottom edge of the crossbar. In this way the upright is hung from the crossbar through the engagement of the upwardly angled lip into the slots in the upper end of the upright. An example of such a suspended shelving system can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,110,080.
An alternative version of the suspended modular shelving system is described in Swedish patent publication No. 9201036-2. This alternative shelving system uses an intermediate coupling member to attach the upright to the crossbar. Again the crossbar includes an upwardly angled lip projecting outwardly from the lower edge of the crossbar and the intermediate coupling member includes parallel downwardly angled slots in each side wall of the coupling member for engagement with the lip on the crossbar. The coupling member also includes first and second pairs of hooks which project outwardly from the rear edges of the coupling member for engagement in two adjacent paired slots of a conventional upright. The hooks are generally L-shaped with the first pair of hooks projecting rearwardly and upwardly and the second pair of hooks projecting rearwardly and downwardly, i.e. the two pairs of hooks are arranged to mirror each other.
One of the disadvantages of the suspended shelving systems described above is that the outwardly projecting lip of the crossbar acts to catch dust and is difficult to clean not only because it is usually positioned high on a wall but also because the uprights attached to the crossbar present barriers to the dust being easily swept away. Also, the structure of the crossbar is unsightly and potentially dangerous having as it does sharp edges sticking out from the wall. Also, the intermediate coupling member uses two adjacent sets of paired slots in the upright which results in there being a trade off between the ease with which the coupling member is attached to the upright and the reliability of that attachment.
The present invention seeks to address the problems encountered with conventional suspended modular shelving systems and seeks to provide an improved suspended modular storage system.